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Kepa Road, Mission Bay – Broken yellow lines Kepa Road, Mission Bay – Broken yellow lines

Proposal status: Closed

Reference number: BYL-600

Proposal outcome

In November 2022, we proposed some improvements on Kepa Road, Mission Bay, to address traffic congestion and improve traffic flow.

Thank you for helping us make better decisions for your neighbourhood, informed by your local knowledge. Most respondents supported this proposal, commenting that these changes would improve traffic congestion and safety.

After receiving community feedback, the work will proceed with minor changes:

  • We will install more broken yellow lines than proposed. These lines will be between the driveway to 237 Kepa Road and the easternmost entrance to Eastridge Shopping Centre.

Download the updated proposal drawing (PDF 813KB)

What happens next

We anticipate the changes will be constructed in May and June 2024. We will be in touch with local residents and businesses prior to any construction taking place.

Community feedback

Thank you for helping us make better decisions for your neighbourhood, informed by your local knowledge.  A summary of your feedback and our responses to community questions is below.

Parking

  • Concern about the loss of parking. 

We understand there is a demand for parking, and we have ensured that we're removing the minimum amount required to improve the current operation along this section of Kepa Road.

  • Request to remove all parking on Kepa Road from Kohi Road to Eastridge Shopping Centre. 

We only remove parking when there is a justification to remove it. There is demand for parking on Kepa Road, and we have to balance the safe operation of the road with parking availability. As a result of this proposal, we are already removing parking; no more is needed to achieve the safety outcomes of the proposal.  

Removing parking along a street can have the unintended consequence of increasing vehicle speeds by freeing up the road corridor for traffic.

For these reasons, we will not remove all parking on this road.

  • Requests for specific areas of parking removal: 
  1. 238-255 Kepa Road
  2. 273-283 Kepa Road

We understand concerns about parked vehicles causing inconvenience to drivers accessing residential properties. The parking needs of residents and visitors must be balanced with maintaining reasonable access to our roads. Broken yellow lines are usually only installed to address road traffic flow or safety issues. Access to residential properties is not considered an issue that significantly impacts traffic flow or safety along a road. As such, broken yellow lines would not be installed in this situation.

  1. 52-42 Godden Crescent

Godden Crescent is outside this project's scope and will be investigated separately. If parking restrictions are deemed necessary, we will consult those directly affected.

  1. Patteson Avenue on blind rises.

We extended the length of broken yellow lines on the approach to the crest of Patteson Avenue in 2020. Considering parking demand, no relevant crash record, and extensive parking restrictions on this road, we cannot justify removing more parking at this stage.  

Speed

  • Request to reduce the speed limit on Kepa Road. 

Auckland Transport's Safe Speeds programme continues to review speed limits on roads across our network to identify where changes are needed. In August, we publicly consulted on the draft Katoa, Ka Ora: Auckland Speed Management Plan 2024-27, the latest phase of our Safe Speeds Programme. As part of this plan, we proposed a reduced speed limit on the section of Kepa Road near St Joseph's School during drop-off and pick-up times.

The section of Kepa Road near Kohimarama Road was not included in the proposal; however, based on your request, we will include it in our database to be considered for a future round of speed limit review.

Visit the safe speeds programme webpage for more information.

  • Request to introduce speed calming measures (e.g., speed bumps) on Kepa Road. 

Kepa Road is classified as a Primary Arterial Route (PAR), primarily designed to accommodate high traffic volumes of all vehicle types and facilitate movement between key destinations. As such, they generally do not have speed bumps installed.  

There are no current plans to install speed bumps along Kepa Road. 

  • Request to remove the speed bump by Coates Road.

The raised zebra crossing was installed outside 148 Kepa Road to improve safety for people crossing the road, particularly school children.  

The local community, including St Joseph School and the Orakei Local Board, was consulted and supported the raised crossing.  

Traffic conditions will return to normal once the retaining works at the bottom of Kepa Road are completed.

Congestion

  • Concern that the proposed changes will create more traffic congestion.

We expect the proposed changes to reduce congestion associated with parked vehicles in this area.

Pedestrians

  • Request to remove the pedestrian island. 

The pedestrian island has been operating relatively safely, with no reported crashes involving pedestrians at this location in the last five years. There is also moderate pedestrian demand, so we cannot remove it.

  • Request to turn the pedestrian island into a formalised pedestrian crossing. 

We have received many requests for pedestrian improvements throughout the region. We collate all the sites and prioritizing them based on factors including pedestrian-related crashes, pedestrian demand, and associated risk to the community. Once funding has been provided each financial year, we select the highest-ranked projects for delivery within the available resources and budget. Due to this process, we cannot give the exact timeframe for implementing the pedestrian improvement work. 

Miscellaneous

  • Concern that the changes are unnecessary.

We have received many complaints from the public regarding parked vehicles along this section of Kepa Road. The proposed changes would improve traffic flow and safety.

  • Request to implement a clearway on Kepa Road.

Kepa Road is an arterial route, and a clearway restriction is inappropriate. Clearway restrictions would improve traffic flow during certain hours while allowing parking at other hours. It would still result in issues for buses and heavy vehicles at certain times during the day.

  • Request to install a flush median on Kepa Road.

Due to the constraint of road width, we can only install a flush median if all parking spaces are removed. To ensure that parking availability is balanced with the safe operation of the road, we will not remove all parking to install a flush median at this stage. 

  • Request to relocate the bus stops so they are offset instead of directly opposite each other.

We aim to offset bus stops where possible. The scope of this proposal is to review parking, not bus stop locations. However, we have passed this feedback to our bus stop team for their consideration.  

Unfortunately, we cannot commit to any timeframes due to current funding challenges. Still, we will look for opportunities to realign the bus stop arrangements to improve the journey experience for as many customers as possible.

  • Concern that narrowing the northern traffic lane will not give enough clearance to keep cyclists safe.

After rechecking road widths on site and adjusting the no-overtaking lines, we make the northern traffic lane wider to allow vehicles to pass cyclists.

We're proposing improvements in your area

To improve traffic flow, we are proposing some improvements to your area.

We are proposing to:

  • Paint new broken yellow lines (no stopping at all times) from 240 to 254 Kepa Road.
  • Paint new broken yellow lines from 259 to 261 Kepa Road.
  • Paint new broken yellow lines from 262 to 274 Kepa Road.
  • Shift the centre line (no overtaking line) between 240 to 254 Kepa Road to accommodate the new broken yellow lines.
  • Shift the centre line (no overtaking line) between 266 to 274 Kepa Road to accommodate the new broken yellow lines.
  • Paint a new flush median near 258 Kepa Road, next to the existing pedestrian island. This is a painted road marking in the middle of the road which makes the pedestrian island more visible to drivers.

Download the proposal drawing for Kepa Road (PDF 398KB)

We’ve heard from the community that congestion frequently occurs along Kepa Road because vehicles park on both sides of the road and block the road, especially for larger vehicles like emergency service vehicles and buses. We’re proposing broken yellow lines to prevent parked vehicles from causing congestion. The proposed shifting of the centre line will also widen the traffic lane and make it easier for drivers to travel down Kepa Road.

What happens next

  • We’ll consider all the feedback we receive, and then decide the best way to move forward.
  • We’ll post the outcome of this proposal and a summary of community feedback on this webpage.
  • We can email you the proposal outcome as soon as it’s ready – just select that option when you fill in the survey.

Mission Bay: Safe with us

Auckland Transport cares for your safety. We want to make our roads safe for everyone, people walking and cycling, especially for our kids and senior citizens and people driving. Projects like this one around Kepa Road are another step towards our goal of achieving no deaths or serious injuries on our roads. We are guided by the Vision Zero approach to transport safety, which prioritises human safety over other measures (like minor time saving).